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Liked It “with uncanny intellect this man W.E.B. Du Bois is a prolific writer!!!! wonderful book in many ways.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“with uncanny intellect this man W.E.B. Du Bois is a prolific writer!!!! wonderful book in many ways.”
Alstondl wrote this review Sunday, February 10, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very powerful writing. After more than 40 years I still can remember this gifted intellectual's indictment of the history of his people, and those who counseled them to "wait for the right time" before acting to secure their rights.”
Danamanian wrote this review Tuesday, July 17, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A fantastic and thoughtful selection of essays on the moral and intellectual issues surrounding African Americans in American society. Although they were written in 1903 these essays still have something to say to readers today. While much has changed since they were written, are race relations what they should be? These essays address the past, present, and the future. ”
Iceangel9 wrote this review Tuesday, July 17, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“One of the toughest, most interesting non-fiction reads I've experienced.
The Lost Entwife wrote this review Thursday, May 17, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The Souls of Black Folk was required reading for me this year - although the class only dealt with five or so chapters, I was so intrigued by what I was reading that I had to finish the entire book.
Each essay provided plenty of food for thought - but most interesting to me was the essay on the education of former slaves - what was appropriate and what was not. This is a part of history that really hasn't been part of my education, and not only did I find it enlightening, historically speaking, I also found it to be relevant today - for all types.
With our focus on getting straight into college after high school (and my experience with some siblings that just doesn't work for), I think what Du Bois has to say is incredibly insightful. Not every person is cut out for a life of academia after high school, and specialized training is there for a reason. As I attend school, and each semester say goodbye to more and more friends who just, for whatever reason, are not coming back, I find myself thinking more about the ideas that Du Bois so eloquently writes down.
I recommend this reading. I think everyone should read it - and I challenge you to do so. ”
“Another great writer I am sorry to have missed - this is fine, observant writing”
Stephen J. Matlock wrote this review Saturday, March 31, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This had some great writing and interesting history but was hard to digest in large doses. I see while I've always come across this work in sections or excerpts.”
Jen wrote this review Saturday, January 7, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It is amazing how this book is quoted my scholars from various walks of life. He was prophetic and iconoclastic. This is the writer of the theory of double consciousness. He was the scholar of scholars.”
kim g wrote this review Saturday, December 31, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Du Bois writes with such passion that it made me remember the social responsibility of academics. I absolutely recommend this book.”
Anna I wrote this review Sunday, October 9, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Speaks The Truth To Power
Eddie Hutchinson wrote this review Friday, October 7, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
In 1903, two years after Booker T. Washington's autobiography, "Up from Slavery: An Autobiography", W.E.B. Du Bois published "The Souls of Black Folk", a series of essays which today most consider a seminal work in African-American Sociology literature. Du Bois view of race relations in American at the dawn of the 20th century was clear, critical and deeply profound.
Throughout the fourteen chapters Du Bois uses a metaphor, the veil, with considerable deftness:
"...the Negro...born with a veil...gifted with second sight...double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others."
Du Bois shares his thoughts on Emancipation & the Post-Emancipation era, "...there was scarcely a white man in the South who did not honestly regard Emancipation as a crime and its practical nullification as a duty." In other chapters he covers: the education of the Negro, Negro suffrage, tenant farming, and Negro spirituals a.k.a Sorrow Songs. In the chapter, "Of the Black Belt", we take a journey with him as he travels through the Black Belt of Georgia - which is not a reference to the large number of people of color in the area but to the color of the soil. In "The Coming of John", the lone fictional chapter, Du Bois relates a short story of two Johns, one white and one Negro, both coming home to the South after attaining an education in the North.
I could go on and on but this one relevant text that you must read for yourself. ”
